French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 24, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his first round match against France's Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard[REUTERS/Stephane Mahe Purchase Licensing Rights]

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev earned comfortable wins to begin ​their French Open campaigns but seventh seed Taylor Fritz became an early casualty as the year’s second Grand Slam got underway on Sunday.

Djokovic and ‌Zverev are both determined to make the most of their chances in Paris this year, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz ruled out with a long-term wrist injury, leaving world number one Jannik Sinner as the overwhelming favourite.

Djokovic, looking to defy the odds and claim a record 25th Grand Slam trophy, began his latest hunt with a 5-7 7-5 6-1 6-4 win over big-serving French favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard under ​the lights.

“I played him for the first time and it’s practically impossible to see where he’ll serve,” Djokovic said after safely negotiating the tricky challenge.
“It’s something I’ve ​seen one or two times in my career with Reilly Opelka or Ivo Karlovic.

“In a match like that, you have to stay ⁠focused and wait for an opportunity. It was a bit difficult but in the end I found my best tennis and best return game at the right moment.”

Denied for ​years by the golden generation of men’s tennis that Djokovic is the last active member of, Zverev began his bid for a maiden major in more challenging conditions but the ​second seed overcame the heat to beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-3 6-4 6-2.

The 2024 runner-up never allowed world number 95 Bonzi into the contest on the main showcourt, as he secured a second-round meeting with Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.

“Very good start to the tournament, it’s always good to start with a win in straight sets especially against Benjamin who can be a tricky opponent,” Zverev said.

The ​morning sun did not deter fans who streamed into Roland Garros, which felt more like the Riviera than claycourt grind as alleys echoed with a violin rendition of Coldplay’s “Viva ​la Vida” and other soft-rock staples.

As the temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), Russian Karen Khachanov downed French hope Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne Lenglen before 11th-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic took ‌out Sinja ⁠Kraus of Austria.

Though heat was less of a factor for Fritz in his late afternoon match, the American’s limited claycourt preparation showed as he fell 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 6-7(9) 6-1 to unheralded compatriot Nishesh Basavareddy.

STANDING OVATION
World number 148 Basavareddy said the biggest surprise was hearing his name chanted by Court Suzanne Lenglen fans.
“That’s something I definitely wasn’t expecting,” he added.

Fritz conceded that his opponent outplayed him.

“I mean … the drop shots were crazy,” he said.

“When someone is drop-shotting me too much, I tell myself ‘I need to hit the ball deeper’. ​He was hitting insane drop shots, like, off ​balls that were landing on the ⁠baseline. He killed me with that, and there’s not really much I can do about it.”